An Officer and a Gentleman

 Curve, Leicester

12^th August, 2024

“Everybody live for the music-go-round”

A review of Taylor Hackford’s 1982 movie said that An Officer and a Gentleman ‘relies on the strength of [its] stereotypes to build a conventional but hugely compelling drama’. This musical adaptation directed by Nikolai Foster, first seen at Curve in 2018, makes no apologies for embracing the melodrama of the movie. There’s been a string of 80s and 90s screen-to-stage adaptations in recent years. Like Back to the Future, Mrs Doubtfire and Pretty Woman (which plays at Curve next month), An Officer and a Gentleman relies on the brand recognition of the film to draw in the audience. Add a back catalogue of (mostly) 80s hits and Foster’s usual polish, and you’ve got an air-punching, feel-good hit.

 

On entering the auditorium, an audio montage depicts 1980s pop culture: MTV, commercials, news clips, jingles. But it was also a decade of the AIDS crisis, Reaganomics, and a decline in social mobility. This creates a political backdrop for the caravan parks, cheap motels, sleazy bars and paper mills of Pensacola, Florida. It is here where the US naval aviation training facility offers a last chance saloon to its cadets and for the female workers of a nearby cardboard box factory who see the pilots as their ticket out of there. It's a strong frame for a rom com, and the grit and the colour of the story is reflected in Michael Taylor’s set: metal staircases, chain fences and bright neon signs. Despite these two different settings, one full of promise and the other a dead-end job, the protagonists all want something more out of life. From difficult upbringings to ‘trailer trash’, they toil all day and play all night.

 

Douglas Day Stewart’s (original screenplay) and Sharleen Cooper Cohen’s book sometimes draws the characters too boldly but this perhaps only enhances the cult classic melodrama status of it. And it also occasionally feels at odds with the overall feel, wanting to be grittier that the show wants it to be. Jukebox musicals offer a sugar rush of recognition as we hear pop and rock classics. Foster gives the audience what they want with the songs, resulting in several of moments of musical ecstasy. One of these comes in the form of the act two karaoke opener ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’, where Ben Cracknell’s lighting and Tom Marhsall’s sound surge with the energy on stage. George Dyer’s orchestrations impressively translate the songs to the stage. In particular, ‘Up Where We Belong’ concentrates its melody to leitmotifs that punctuate and underscore the show, leading to the triumphantly uplifting final scene.

 

Strong performances bolster the production further, thanks to a cast in fine voice and vigour. Luke Baker as Zack Mayo leads the show with a rough-edged confidence and a fantastic tenor rock timbre that make his solo numbers soar, while Georgia Lennon is a delectable blend of vulnerability, sass and heart as love interest, Paula. Paul French and Sinead Long are eye-catching and have a great chemistry as Zack and Paula’s friends Sid and Lynette respectively. Their performances elevate what could be a run-of-the-mill romantic sub-plot into an arc every bit as enjoyable (yet tragic) as the main story. Special mention must also go to Chris Breistein, stepping in as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley at this performance. His command of the impossible to please taskmaster is stellar. 

 

An Officer and a Gentleman was one of the first shows that really cemented Curve as a powerhouse producer of commercial musicals. This remains the case in an unabashed production which embraces the frivolity of the form.

 

An Officer and a Gentleman plays at Curve, Leicester until 17^th August as part of a UK tour. For further information please visit https://www.curveonline.co.uk/whats-on/shows/an-officer-and-a-gentleman/

 

Georgia Lennon and Luke Baker in An Officer and a Gentleman. Credit: Marc Brenner